Lupine & Laughter Mystery - Part Three!

It's Friday again!
And here we are at part three of our Lupine & Laughter Mystery.
Part one focused on one unit.
Part two had us creating two different color ways of geese!
Guess what part three means?
Three different sizes of half-square triangles!
Don't worry - this trend isn't likely to continue, but I thought since the tutorial for all of these was basically the same we'd make some major headway by getting these done at the same time.

On the road again!

On this day on our Icelandic Adventure we headed out by coach to a national park, a nature hike through guysers, a bread baking by geothermal, and more!

Each day was so adventure filled we reached our hotels ready to unwind and sleep and excited for the next day.

Notice all of the lupine on the roadside?

Þingvellir National Park

Located in South Iceland, this was the first national park, established in 1930. It is historically significant as the site of Iceland's ancient parliament and geologically important for being located between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

The scenery was spectacular and the weather just perfect!

Do you see the people walking down in the crevasse?

More purple and some yellow

Wildflowers growing along the volcanic rock.

So idyllic!

Definitely a good day to explore.

Iceland, you enchant me!

Let's Sew!

Click HERE for Part Three PDF.

We'll be making half-square triangle units that finish at 1 1/2'', 2'' and 3'' in the above color combos.
These units will be made in sets, with four matching units per set.
1 1/2'' finished: 25 sets of 4 matching (100 total)
2'' finished: 24 sets of 4 matching (96 total)
3'' finished: 25 sets of 4 matching (100 total)
You can use ANY method to make these, keeping in mind the unfinished and finished size.

Traditional Rotary Cutting for 1 1/2'' finished ONE SET:

From pink fabric cut:

2 squares 2 3/8''

From neutral fabric cut:

2 squares 2 3/8''

Pair neutral squares with pink squares with right sides together.  Slice on the diagonal from corner to corner to yield 2 half-square triangle units ready to sew from each pair of squares.

Repeat to cut 25 sets.

The sewing is the same as the Essential Triangle Tool Method below.

Traditional Rotary Cutting for 2'' finished ONE SET:

From pink fabric cut:

2 squares 2 7/8''

From purple fabric cut:

2 squares 2 7/8''

Pair pink squares with purple squares with right sides together.  Slice on the diagonal from corner to corner to yield 2 half-square triangle units ready to sew from each pair of squares.

Repeat to cut 24 sets.

The sewing is the same as the Essential Triangle Tool Method below.

Traditional Rotary Cutting for 3'' finished ONE SET:

From pink fabric cut:

2 squares 3 7/8''

From Neutral fabric cut:

2 squares 3 7/8''

Pair neutral squares with pink squares with right sides together.  Slice on the diagonal from corner to corner to yield 2 half-square triangle units ready to sew from each pair of squares.

Repeat to cut 25 sets.

The sewing is the same as the Essential Triangle Tool Method below.

Essential Triangle Tool Method:

1 1/2'' finished triangles (2'' unfinished)

Pair a 2'' pink strip and a 2'' neutral strip with right sides together.  We are cutting in already matched pairs, ready to sew.

Square off end of strip set.

Using the 2nd red line for 1 1/2'' finished half-square triangles, place the line at the top of the strip set and cut as shown. 

Pivot the ruler and continue cutting, placing the 1 1/2'' finished red line on the bottom of the strip set on the fabric as shown. Cut.

Continue to pivot the ruler, cutting 8 half-square triangle pairs ready to sew from each fabric pairing. Cut 25 sets of 4.

Stitch half-square triangle pairs along diagonal edge.  Gently press toward the pink fabric. 

Remove dog ears and trim to 2'' as needed.

If your units are too small, scant your seam allowance and try again.

Chain piece in ironing board lengths! I've mentioned this before, but long chains of 100 are unwieldy and can tangle and pull on the stitching. Instead, I keep my chains no longer than my ironing board, snipping the chain from behind my presser foot after 8 or so units to keep my piecing continuous, and my chains manageable and untangled.

I leave my triangles in a chain while pressing and then come back and clip threads and trim dog ears.  It keeps everything facing the same direction, easier to keep count and stay organized.

If you use one of the razor blade thread cutters, try pressing your chain first before cutting into individual units. It will stop the mad scrambled piles and having to rotate units individually to press them.

25 sets of 4 matching - minus dog ears!

On to the next size!

2'' finished, 2 1/2'' unfinished. 24 sets of 4. (yes 24)

This time around pair pink 2 1/2'' strips with purple 2 1/2'' strips.

Using the 3rd red line for 2'' finished half-square triangles, place the line at the top of the strip set and cut as shown. Pivot the ruler to cut 4 matched triangle pairs from each strip p airing for a total of 24 sets of 4.

The piecing is the same - just be sure to check your unfinished and unfinished sizes. Units will measure 2 1/2'' unfinished and finish at 2'' in the quilt.

24 sets of 4 matching finishing at 2''.

(I made one set too many in this photo.)

3'' finished - 3 1/2'' unfinished.

Same process.  Use the 5th red line for 3'' finished half-square triangles. Cut 25 sets of 4 matching.

The sewing is the same though the units are larger.  Be sure to measure and check your unfinished size. Units will measure 3 1/2'' and finish at 3'' in the quilt.

These chains were longer due to the unit size, so I snipped them from behind my presser foot after each set was sewn while keeping my piecing continuous.

25 sets of 4!

And that's it for Part Three!

If you don't finish these this week, don't sweat it.  They make great Leaders & Enders, and you can continue to work on them in between the other parts that you do finish more quickly.

While Bonnie's Away Pattern Sale!
While I'm gone, all PDF patterns in the  Quiltville Store are automatically 30% off - no coupon code needed!
This is the only time of year I do 30% off, so it's a great time to stock up on patterns you have wanted.
This automatic discount is good until 11:30pm Eastern on 12/8/25 the day of my return.
I'm so grateful for the community we have built here and that includes having YOU in it!
I may not be posting much here on the blog while I'm gone, but you can always catch up with my posts on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and sometimes Threads.
We'll catch up more when I get back -

Quiltville Quote of the Day 0ay -
You are where you're supposed to be right now! Everything you've been through has led you to this moment. Put some faith in the choices you are making and take the next step forward!
Happy Friday, everyone!

 

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